Automatic exclusion circuit for a key telephone set

ABSTRACT

An exclusion circuit for a key telephone set is disclosed, comprised of means for preventing a key telephone set from being connected to either an intercom line circuit or a central office line circuit which is being used by at least one other key telephone. Means are also provided to permit a user of either an intercom or central office line, to temporarily remove the guarded condition, permitting other key telephone sets to connect to the line circuit in use. After the connection of the additional key telephone set or sets, the guarded condition is restored, thereby preventing other unwanted key telephone sets from connecting to the occupied line circuit.

United States Patent Sudoh et al.

[ 1 Jan. 14,1975

[ AUTOMATIC EXCLUSION CIRCUIT FOR A KEY TELEPHONE SET [75] Inventors: Kengo Sudoh; Mikihiro Ichikawa,

both of Kawasaki, Japan [731 Assignees: Nippon Tsu Shin Kogyo K.K.,

Kawasaki-shi, Japan; TIE/Communications Inc., Stamford, Conn.

[22] Filed: Apr. 5, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 348,313

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 13, I973 Japan 48/12510 [52] US. Cl 179/18 DA, 179/99 [51] Int. Cl. H04m H70 [58] Field of Search. 179/18 DA, 99, 17 B, 18 AD, 179/39 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,514,544 5/1970 Chambers, Jr. [79/17 B Morse et al. l79/l8 AD Jetzt 179/99 [57] ABSTRACT An exclusion circuit for a key telephone set is disclosed, comprised of means for preventing a key telephone set from being connected to either an intercom line circuit or a central office line circuit which is being used by at least one other key telephone. Means are also provided to permit a user of either an intercom or central office line, to temporarily remove the guarded condition, permitting other key telephone sets to connect to the line circuit in use. After the connection of the additional key telephone set or sets, the guarded condition is restored, thereby preventing other unwanted key telephone sets from connecting to the occupied line circuit.

10 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure :AUTOMATIC'EXCIJUSIO CIRQUIT FQR AKEY fprovidedffor temporarily defeating the exclusion cir- '"1, cuit ;therebyrpermitting one or more additional key i a 5 t Q'telephonesets to'cdnnect to the central office or interv y y a r 7 corn linecjr c uit already in use, and means for automati- I f Thei inventionjrelates in general to an exclusion cir- 5; callygrestoring the exclusion circuit to normal operacuit fora telephone system; more particularly it relates tion afte rlthe desired keytelephone sets are connected to ane'xlusion circuit'for use on both a central office to the partic ular line circuit. i of PBX line circuitliandfan intercomline circuit of a The specific preferred embodiment disclosed herein f for carrying out the present invention employs a silicon Y yst e'mlitis desirabl'e'jto design the to controlled rectifier circuit means to test the voltage system to p ie'rrni ach keytelephone set to be conconditionofv acentral office or an intercomline control nected to one iof p H entralofficeonPBX linecircircuitmeans; The, response of the siliconcontrolled rFcuits by raising'theh and set", and depressing thegdesired rectifierg circuit means to the state of theparticular line central office. line-key button Eurther itis desirable to control circuit means is then used to control the curdesign the system tope'rniit'each KGM-IClPhOl'ldSCt to l5 rent in a transistorcircuit meansusedto drive anexclubecon nected ;fo r;con'v e rsat ion to: any other key tele- SlflZl'GldY, through the contacts of which the-key telephone set in the'isystelm an; intercom gline circuit by phone setsanetwork is connected to or disconnected raising the handset;depressing theapp ropriate interfrom the line cireuit means in response to thevoltage 1 com line key button andsdialling the appropriate 'n uma condition'o f the linescontrolcircuit means. In, addiber for theot her set-.1 f I ;'y 1' tion, an exclusion defeating meanscomprising aflkey H [in a'dditionflt is desirable ina'key telephone'systm I and associated circuitry; is provided at eachikey' teleto automatically: e'riclude all other'key telephones. from phone set, permittingthe user oft-helin ej circuit-to'con' g central officeorintercomglinecircuitwhen the line trol the silicon controlled "rectifier circuit means in {I} circuit is connectedto on ormore 'of the sytems sets. g other key telephone sets thereby allowingor pr'event urthe r, it is alsoidesira ble to permit this exclusio r'iffea j 251.;ing connection tof'th e line circuit then in use l H ture tobe defe'atedrattheo'tioniofthe art connected f 1 Y 1:- i i ,it ofltheparticular-dine circ in-toipe rm it oi ie or rnore 3 r: T DRAWING other key telephoneusers tojoih' in on the line circuit f The'objects''and'features of the present invention will Land; then: prevent the connecjtion of' other key "telg f I be betteryunderstood by reference to thei'cletailed dephone sets to theparticular line circuitj jthen in use. scription which. follows wheniconsideredtogether with 1 ltis, therefore, an object of thefpresent invention to the accompanying drawing showing aschematic circuit designfla ke y telephone; system exclusionpcircuit by diagram of ajp'ref erred embodiment for carrying out whichcalls mayjbernade and received on afkeytelefi this invention r o 1 phone set to a central office switching means while prei venting other key telephohe setjusersfro'mLoverhearing'} theflconversation byjconnectirig tothe busy"fcentral h, h r office line circuitrnean r I j in the aceompanyingld f flg fonly-th e components t It is anadditional object ofithe pr sent'inventio to of akey telephone systemessential toillus't'rate: the opdes" n a key telephone. systemYeXclusion circuit by aeration of the invention'a r'eshownj'and the drawing is whichfint -rcom calls'rnayibe madef.and'receivedbe- 4 "ottobevunderstood'aslrepresenting an entirekey tel e5 tweenitwokey telephone' sejts while preventingfot'her 5 oEr mEo DES c IlTlO N' O F; THE PREFERRED MBQDIM T tamed n the broken line Thej key, service unit-1" scon nlec't ed tof eachjkeytlephone set (representedfby g 'the'cirpuitswithin'the broken lin efzlby a centralo ffice .coh'tr'ol ldrCC. Additionally-each key se -7 :2 is;

tion onth ihtercom line' m ean s b connectingito busy intercom lin e circuit means. t 1; A'furiher'objecfofthe' present invention; ,to design the key teletihonesystefrn excl'us n so thatythe user ofthejcentraloffice linecircuit mean hasgthegca y i yofld atin i hs l 5 iir i' BI l r tingioth'erstjoconne' 'nto the lin'e ci'rcuitf or t ence {A further inal'obje'ctiveof this nventin vide the capability in the}exclusion" systern;f

r cuitl) by conventionaltip a n tiring leads 'CT and tojexclude' fu rther k e y, telephone sets from al office conference call" is esf The 'c or oilrelayll l connecjted between the negative I jsideofaicomrnoh power supply Ec andithe central of- 'cuit means once a-cen tablishedtf h j a v i t heseajnd other ob ectsare accomplished in t I vention by pr iovidirig' an exclusion circuitjnaQke'y -tele phone set-'c'omprisedofmeansfor selec'tivelytconnec y V t b ing avkey telephone sjet to' a central office or intercom power 'sourc'eslshown herein 'asba'tter'is are not be lin'e circuitmeans; meansfor testing'the'status of' th'e l1 :fconst rued aslimitingtheinventiontooperation'witha selected line circuit niean si torproduce a firstoutput 'g- :hatteryibut othersource's otpower mayequallyas well nal indicatingwlie'n a selected line circuit means is-idley jybe used. '1 i ahd a second output signal indicating when these'lectedf. l The exclusion ircuitlof this invention."is' shown line circuit'is in use, andmeans responsive tofth oppwithin broken line; 3 with the jeontactsson exclusion put signals of said testing meansffolr per'r r'iitting-orpre f relay Exlwithin btoken line-'4. gWhen exclusion relay venting connection of the telephone; irrresponse tothe Ex is n'otbperated, its two contacts ex connect aconidle or busy conditions respectively-Meansaie' ,also ielntional telephon ejflnetyvork 5 Lthroughfjhookswitch keytelephone'set users from overhear tng-theconversa As shown in the drawing arkey service unlt 1s con-w I he t N i, w en operatedtperform's supervisoryf functions' -,,forflthe' associated central office line withinthe,keyjsystemfltshould beunderst'ood thatthe' r contact H81 and the appropriately closed locking line key, LKC for a central office circuit, or LKI for an intercom line circuit. Cable 6 contains the tip and ring leads CT and CR for the central office line circuit, cen tral office line control lead CC, key telephone system intercom tip and ring leads IT and [R and intercom line circuit control lead lC.

Relay A through its coil, (not shown in the drawing) is used to feed the key telephone system power source E to the intercom line leads IT and IR. Relay C, together with relay A, operate at the commencement of an intercom line call, the former relay releasing when the answering relay, D, is operated by the intercom call being answered. Two or more key telephone sets 2 are parallel connected across intercom line leads lT, IR and lC. The contacts on relay C, A and D are shown in the drawing as contacts c, a and d respectively.

Contacts ca on relay CA (not shown) are operated during the dial impulse counting of an intercom call origination. In their operated position, contacts ca connect the power source Ec through resistor R2 to capacitor Cl, charging it as shown in the drawing through diode D1 and ground. As explained infra, when during an intercom call, contacts ca return to the position shown in the drawing, capacitor C1 places positive voltage on intercom control line lC.

Relay CR (not shown), in the key telephone set 2 receiving an intercom call, operates, closing contact cr, when the called intercom signalling is commenced.

In the drawing, all relays, contacts, line keys and circuits appear in their idle condition prior to the initiation of any calls.

With respect to the transistor circuits, TRl is used to drive relay D when an intercom call is answered. TR2, when turned on, provides gating current to silicon controlled rectifier SCR in the exclusion circuit 3 when an intercom call from another key telephone set is answered. Transistor TR3 drives the exclusion relay EX to open contacts ex and exclude the key telephone set 2 from connecting to either busy central office leads CT, CR or busy intercom leads lT, lR.

Zener diodes ZD2 and 2D] are used to prevent false turnon of the SCR when voltage drops in the key telephone system cables raise the voltage applied to the key telephone set 2 on leads CC and IC above their theoretical value.

HK is a contact on a non-locking hold key (not shown) for central office calls, RK is a contact on a non-locking exclusion defeating key (not shown). When either contact is operated, resistor R5 is placed in series with the central office control lead CC or the intercom control lead lC. CK is a contact which opens momentarily and then closes again whenever a line key is operated or released.

The functional operation of the exclusion circuit will now be explained for the various operations in a key telephone system.

When connection to a central office line circuit is required, and the office line connected by leads CT, CR and CC is not being used by any other key telephone set the party using key set 2 may, by pushing LKC and closing hookswitch contacts HS2, form a gate current path to SCR through R9, ZDl, the SCR, D8, contacts RK, HK, LKC, lead cc, and relay H to power source EC. Because the central office line is not already in use, the control lead CC is ungrounded and therefore, when this path is closed, the voltage across zener diode ZDl exceeds its breakdown voltage causing current to flow through it and into the gate of the SCR. This turns the SCR on, grounding lead CC and operating relay H. The operation of relay H performs conventional supervisory functions in the key service unit.

Further, by the conduction of the SCR and diode D9, and the closing of HS2, the emitter and base of transistor TR3 are grounded, preventing TR3 from conducting. Thus relay EX is not operated and contacts ex remain closed, connecting the conventional telephone network 5 in key telephone set 2, through closed hookswitch HSl to the central office leads CT and CR.

If the central office line circuit is being used at the time that the LKC and H52 contacts close, the central office control lead CC is grounded by the using key telephone set. Therefore, when the second key telephone set user pushes LKC and closes hookswitch contact HS2, ZDl, which is itself grounded, does not conduct because of the ground on lead CC, and no gate current flows through ZDl and the SCR. Thus the SCR does not turn ON. Consequently, the base of transistor TR3 is not grounded by diode D9, transistor TR3 is turned ON by current through resistors R10, R11 and source Ec, collector current flows through relay EX, and relay EX operates, opening contacts ex and preventing the telephone network 5 from being connected across central office leads CT and CR. Thus by the operation of the exclusion circuit of this invention, a second key telephone set 2 is prevented from entering a central office line circuit in use by another key telephone set.

In the event the user of the central office line circuit wishes to permit a second key telephone set 2 to connect into the central office line circuit in use, because of the operation of the exclusion circuit of this invention, the party using the central office line has exclusive control over this operation. Even if the line key contacts LKC and the hookswitch contacts HS2 are closed, the second set will not be connected to the line because the EX relay in the second key set will operate, its ex contacts opening and preventing the connection of telephone network 5 in the second key telephone set to leads CT and CR.

If, however, the user of the central office line circuit pushes his exclusion circuit defeat or release key, opening contact RK, resistor R5 is placed in series with central office control lead CC. This removes the direct ground on lead CC, dividing the voltage of EC between the coil resistance of relay H and resistor R5. At this point, the user of the second key telephone set 2, who wishes to join the central office line circuit may, by closing the appropriate line key contacts LKC and closing hookswitch contact HS2, connect to the line because the voltage on lead CC is sufficient to break down ZDl and turn on the SCR in this second key telephone set in the same manner as would occur in connecting to an idle line.

This occurs because line CC was permitted to reach a negative voltage by the addition of resistor R5 in series with relay coil H when contact RK was opened in the first key telephone. During this sequence, the SCR in the first key telephone is not affected by the voltage variations in the circuit because a path for the SCR current is formed through diode D9 and resistor R10 to power source Ec.

To make a call on an idle intercom line, the circuit functions as follows:

ting the receiv y close. By depressing hisflinefkey,jcontactslLKl; ar

7 closed,"Capacitot- Cl: then discharges,throughitlie p h" I 1 formed bythecirc'uitf contact c[-2"( relaygC havinglope atedat the beginning {of the caIILwdiode' D3 the'fe mib ter-base junction" of' TR]; R*,,contact ca 2f break This current gates SC V7 vhookswit'jch;t-iontact's HS i aIid H82 areclosed, because {theintercomflcontrol lead 1C is notfgtoundedby anotlierkey telephone set, gate current flows through the SC R j-ofthe'key'tele phon set via the path R9,ZD1, scR,;D8, RK; HK,'LK'1, line ic, contact 6-1 break, R'l,

contact ddfand the negative t'erminalpfpowersoutce Ec. This turns the SCRON,groundingthe'baseof trait-,-

I sistors TR3 through D9'an dfturninggTR3 ()FF. As.pre-

' 'ivio usly' describedf'r'elay EX does'njotfoperate, contacts" ,x remain closed,ahdfthe itelephone networki is connected to intercom leads' l'T and lRi The SCR'grounds resistorRl,excluding' all other sets. Atthis po'int relay 5 Aop e rates and its contact 11-1 is closed This operates I relay. thtou gh the 'cir cuit: ground, CO l1taCt, d-3,jl" iay'- coil CQcont'act a-l, and power supply Ec.*-With relay C v J "operatcdfcontact,C 1 ithe fIClead circuit opens the current pathof theSCR through R1 in the key serivce ,itmi -1. uowv r; because of the alternat'ejcurrent path through-diode D9fand;resistorR10 to powersupply fic', the1SCR in'the keyg telephone-set'is held ,ON, transistorTRSfis heIdQOFEand rel'ay EX is'not operated, per- 1 mitting the telephone-network 5 tocontinue its connec "tion to leads lT and making an intercom call po'ss ble. MeanwhilQ since -the re is no negative potentia connected to lead 1C, otherse tsare still excluded from ,the line; w i

At this point, asthe key through diode" 136, 3

ode curtent flowing through diodelji iesistor Bltia'ri power supply Ec. Transistor TR3;in thecalled.kqy;:tl-' phone is thereby turned QFF, R'elayEX does notoper- 0 ate, and the telephone network 5isconnectedtointen,

com lines IT and IRpermitting-'convetsation be'tween both parties bridged ,acrossr ll'lZ: an dPlR. At the same time, the discharge of Cl" turns 'ttansistorTRlON;op crating relay D .=Theoperation of relay. D, througlliits' contact d-3,releases,relay C to produce"an'answertc'ons" dition in theint'ercomlin e"circuit, Contactfd-lkeeps the 1C lead circuitfop'en after relay C releases 'solthatf there is no voltage to' permitconnection of another key telephone set. In this way an intercom linegcircuit is formed, and it is possible to. havean exclusiveinterco'm"- conversation between the-two p'artiesQEven ifa nothe key telephone user presses-LKI, and closes .ho'oikswitc contacts H31, H82 and HSS as e plained above, it

t I telje'phone u'sef rdialsto'signal;L another keyi telephone, relay,operates-{and its contacts ca-l andca-Z connecfl'powe v :WBecause thereis'no 1disch the charge wIh en'relay CA urcejEqand turning it-ON, the sca c aih H line keymis 'p 'essed,closingfLKl, the

gate current will flow to the SCR in the key telephone set, the-SCR cannot be turned ON, therefore permit I exclusion condition is maintained.

indicating circuit,nieans forproducing a excluded telephon tem havinga plurality f y 'eachYkeytelephone r v v ,i #netwo 'k circuit,1at least :onecen'tra 9nieans connecting eachjte leph" switching 1 ma ager least on l 'meansintei'connectingsaid-kc telephones nd'meansfor'seljectively connecting anykey .telephonefnetworkf A -,circuitgto;oneof "the linecircuit rtieanspsaidtexclusion As e xplained in detail above, it is possible in a key telephone system by the exclusioncircuit of thepresent invention to have the capability or} automatically ex- "eluding from botha central officefline circuit and an intercom line circuit additional users who might at- 1 vtemptlto connect toan existing conversation, while permittinginioinentary release of the exclusion-circuit at -thekeyteIephOneIsetunder control of the first telei i connect to-the phone user to therebypermit othersto line whilelin almomentary idlestatel u lti's tobeunde rstoo'd that the embodiment of the inyentionidescribedjherein is merely intended toiillustratedthe opetativeprinciples of the invention'and is 9mm tobe considered as limiting the scope of the invention;Modificationsmay b'e made by thoseskilled i'nthe 3 artwithoutdeparting fromthefspirit of theinvention. I What is-cl I r l,;Anautomaticfkey telepho foru'se iriI-al keytelephonesystem having a plurality of key telephoneffsets-wherein 'eachkeytclephone set inxcludes'atelephone speech network circuit and ,at least V i one intercomlinecitcuit, means interconnectinglsaid telephone sets, said ericlusioncircuit comprising an ie cliision relaycircuit" meansjin each telephone i r set?forfcontrolling the'jconn'e cti on 'of.the. key tele -l, to'the intercom lin'e Q phonefspeech network circu nal', indicatingthe conditioniof thejline "cite means when connected to; thelinepir cuitim said; means producing afir'st-output signal i r g when thelinecircuit meansis idle andfase oiitputisigitalindicatingfvlihenthe line circuit me rn-usei by'atfleast'one setg and k1 mean lt'l efih -kyftelcph qftset, responsive to the rs and:secondt ut uti ignals offsaid indicating gt' m l n he t ph ne liet jkci o a central, off ce rcuit comprising; I

e set,e clusion circuitj neg'cjirc uit'meansf-inytesponse to said nte ric'or'n {line circuit 1 an exclusion relay circuit means each'telephone.

set for controlling the'connection ofthe key ,telje- I phone speech network circuit to the intercom line circuit means;

indicating circuit means, for producing an output signal indicating the condition of the line circuit means when connected to the line circuit means, said means producing a first output signal indicating when the selected line circuit means is idle, and

a second output signal indicating when the selected line circuit means is in use by another telephone set; and

means in each telephone set, responsive to the first and second output signals of said indicating means, for connecting another telephone network circuit to the selected line circuit means in response to said first output signal and operating said exclusion relay circuit means to exclude the connection of said telephone network circuit from the selected line circuit means in response to said second output signal.

4. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 3 further comprising an exclusion circuit release means connected to the key telephone system for temporarily disabling the exclusion relay circuit means to permit the connection of an excluded telephone network circuit to a line circuit means in use by another key telephone set.

5. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 4 wherein the exclusion circuit release means comprises a key switching means.

6. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 3 wherein;

the means for selectively connecting a key telephone to a line circuit comprises a line switching means having an output terminal connected to the telephone network circuit and a plurality of input terminals connected to the line circuits;

the means for producing an output signal indicating the condition of the line circuit means comprises l. a line circuit control means connected between the input terminal of the switching means corresponding to the selected line circuit means and a power source, the voltage on said line circuit control means being dependent upon the status of the selected line circuit means,

2. a first semiconductor switching means connected to the output terminal of said line switching means, responding to the voltage of said line circuit control means to produce a first output signal indicating when the selected line circuit means is idle and a second output signal indicating when the selected line circuit means is in use; and

the means responsive to both said first and second output signals, comprises a second semiconductor switching means responsive to the outputs of said first semiconductor switching means to produce an output, and the exclusion relay circuit means comprises a relay means responsive to the output of the second semiconductor switching means for connecting a key telephone network circuit to the selected line circuit means in response to the idle condition of the selected line circuit means and to disconnect a key telephone network circuit for the selected line circuit means in response to the busy condition of said circuit means.

7. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 6 wherein;

the line circuit control means is grounded when the selected line circuit means is being used and is at a predetermined voltage level when said line circuit means is idle; the first semiconductor switching means is comprised of a silicon controlled rectifier circuit means switched on by the predetermined voltage on said line circuit control means, and not switched on by a ground signal on said line circuit control means;

said second semiconductor switching means is comprised of a transistor switching circuit connected to the output of the silicon controlled rectifier circuit means and is thereby switched off when said silicon controlled rectifier conducts and switched on when said silicon controlled rectifier is not turned on; and

the exclusion relay circuit means is responsive to the transistor switching circuit and operates when said transistor means is on and does not operate when said transistor means is off, the contacts on said relay connecting the key telephone network circuit to the line circuit switching means when said relay is not operated and disconnecting said network circuit when said relay is operated.

8. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 3 wherein the selected line circuit means is an intercom line and;

the means for connecting a key telephone network circuit to another key telephone network circuit on the intercom line, comprises;

means responsive to the connection of said first key telephone to said intercom line control circuit means for disabling the exclusion circuit means within said second key telephone and connecting said second key telephone network circuit to said intercom circuit means; and

means, connected to said intercom line control means, responsive to the connection of the second key telephone to the intercom line control circuit for preventing the connection of the network circuits of additional sets to said intercom line circuit means.

9. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 8 further comprising;

means for connecting additional key telephone sets to an intercom line circuit means in use by a plurality of key telephones, said means comprising:

an exclusion release key on the telephones connected to the intercom line and operable by the parties using the intercom line, means responsive to the operation of the exclusion release key for disabling the exclusion circuit means within said additional key telephone sets and for connecting said additional key telephone sets to said intercom line circuit means, and

means connected to said intercom line control means responsive to the connection of said additional key telephone to the intercom line control circuit for preventing the connection of the network circuits of additional sets to said intercom line circuit means.

10. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 8 wherein the means for disabling said exclusion circuit is connected to the second key telephone and operates in response to the call signal initiated at the first operated key telephone set. 

1. An automatic key telephone set exclusion circuit fOr use in a key telephone system having a plurality of key telephone sets wherein each key telephone set includes a telephone speech network circuit and at least one intercom line circuit means interconnecting said telephone sets, said exclusion circuit comprising an exclusion relay circuit means in each telephone set for controlling the connection of the key telephone speech network circuit to the intercom line circuit means; indicating circuit means for producing an output signal indicating the condition of the line circuit means when connected to the line circuit means, said means producing a first output signal indicating when the line circuit means is idle and a second output signal indicating when the line circuit means is in use by at least one set; and means in each key telephone set, responsive to the first and second output signals of said indicating means, for connecting the telephone network circuit to the line circuit means in response to said first output signal and operating said exclusion relay means to block the connection of the telephone network circuit from the line circuit means in response to said second output signal.
 2. An exclusion circuit as in claim 1 further comprising exclusion circuit release means connected to said telephone system for temporarily disabling the exclusion relay circuit means to permit the connection of an excluded telephone network circuit to an intercom line circuit means in use by other telephone sets.
 2. a first semiconductor switching means connected to the output terminal of said line switching means, responding to the voltage of said line circuit control means to produce a first output signal indicating when the selected line circuit means is idle and a second output signal indicating when the selected line circuit means is in use; and the means responsive to both said first and second output signals, comprises a second semiconductor switching means responsive to the outputs of said first semiconductor switching means to produce an output, and the exclusion relay circuit means comprises a relay means responsive to the output of the second semiconductor switching means for connecting a key telephone network circuit to the selected line circuit means in response to the idle condition of the selected line circuit means and to disconnect a key telephone network circuit for the selected line circuit means in response to the busy condition of said circuit means.
 3. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system having a plurality of key telephone sets, wherein each key telephone set includes a telephone speech network circuit, at least one central office line circuit means connecting each telephone to a central office switching means, at least one intercom line circuit means interconnecting said key telephones and means for selectively connecting any key telephone network circuit to one of the line circuit means, said exclusion circuit comprising; an exclusion relay circuit means in each telephone set for controlling the connection of the key telephone speech network circuit to the intercom line circuit means; indicating circuit means, for producing an output signal indicating the condition of the line circuit means when connected to the line circuit means, said means producing a first output signal indicating when the selected line circuit means is idle, and a second output signal indicating when the selected line circuit means is in use by another telephone set; and means in each telephone set, responsive to the first and second output signals of said indicating means, for connecting another telephone network circuit to the selected line circuit means in response to said first output signal and operating said exclusion relay circuit means to exclude the connection of said telephone network circuit from the selected line circuit means in response to said second output signal.
 4. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 3 further comprising an exclusion circuit release means connected to the key telephone system for temporarily disabling the exclusion relay circuit means to permit the connection of an excluded telephone network circuit to a line circuit means in use by another key telephone set.
 5. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 4 wherein the exclusion circuit release means comprises a key switching means.
 6. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 3 wherein; the means for selectively connecting a key telephone to a line circuit comprises a line switching means having an output terminal connected to the telephone network circuit and a plurality of input terminals connected to the line circuits; the means for producing an output signal indicating the condition of the line circuit means comprises
 7. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 6 wherein; the line circuit control means is grounded when the selected line circuit means is being used and is at a predetermined voltage level when said line circuit means is idle; the first semiconductor switching means is comprised of a silicon controlled rectifier circuit means switched on by the predetermined voltage on said line circuit control means, and not switched on by a ground signal on said line circuit control means; said second semiconductor switching means is comprised of a transistor switching circuit connected to the output of the silicon controlled rectifier circuit means and is thereby switched off when said silicon controlled rectifier conducts and switched on when said silicon controlled rectifier is not turned on; and the exclusion relay circuit means is responsive to the transistor switching circuit and operates when said transistor means is on and does not operate when said transistor means is off, the contacts on said relay connecting the key telephone network circuit to the line circuit switching means when said relay is not operated and disconnecting said network circuit when said relay is operated.
 8. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 3 wherein the selected line circuit means is an intercom line and; the means for connecting a key telephone network circuit to another key telephone network circuit on the intercom line, comprises; means responsive to the connection of said first key telephone to said intercom line control circuit means for disabling the exclusion circuit means within said second key telephone and connecting said second key telephone network circuit to said intercom circuit means; and means, connected to said intercom line control means, responsive to the connection of the second key telephone to the intercom line control circuit for preventing the connection of the network circuits of additional sets to said intercom line circuit means.
 9. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 8 further comprising; means for connecting additional key telephone sets to an intercom line circuit means in use by a plurality of key telephones, said means comprising: an exclusion release key on the telephones connected to the intercom line and operable by the parties using the intercom line, means responsive to the operation of the exclusion release key for disabling the exclusion circuit means within said additional key telephone sets and for connecting said additional key telephone sets to said intercom line circuit means, and means connected to said intercom line control means responsive to the connection of said additional key telephone to the intercom line control circuit for preventing the connection of the network circuits of additional sets to said intercom line circuit means.
 10. An exclusion circuit for use in a key telephone system as in claim 8 wherein the means for disabling said exclusion circuit is connected to the second key telephone and operates in response to the call signal initiated at the first operated key telephone set. 